Ural: Game over?

Ural's beginnings were in World War II, with 1-to-1 copies of the BMW R71 side-valve engines. These were the IMZ M-72s. After that—from roughly the mid-1960s until 2000—Ural produced 650cc overhead-valve engines. Incidentally, the 'I' in IMZ stands for Irbitskiy Mototsikletniy Zavod, the motorcycle factory in Irbit.

The original Ural factory was established in 1941 in the city of Irbit, Russia, located between the eastern foothills of the Ural Mountains and the plains of Western Siberia. As of August 2022, due to Russian activities in Ukraine, the motorcycles were assembled in Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan.

Ural Motorcycles (IMZ-Ural) is privately owned and has been led by a group of American investors under the leadership of CEO Ilya Khait since 2006. Although Ural has its roots in Russia, assembly was moved to Kazakhstan in 2022. To date, the headquarters are located in Woodinville, Washington, and the company has assembly facilities in Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan.

Within the framework of the planned economy in the former USSR, an enormous number of Ural motorcycles were manufactured. And an enormous number of spare parts. The armed forces were a very important customer. During the Soviet era, up to 150.000+ sidecar combinations rolled off the assembly line annually. After the fall of communism, that number dropped to around 4000–6000.

Ural's air-cooled twins grew like reborn models to 750 cc and received fuel injection from 2014.

In its previous life, Urals were made at the location where literally all parts were manufactured. Right down to the inner tubes. Under the leadership of Ilya Khait, the reborn Ural was heavily streamlined. Many parts came from 'elsewhere', with suppliers such as Bosch, Delphi, and Brembo.

The new fuel-injected 750s also ran aground on the cliffs of noise and the environment. But a future for the Ural was being envisioned. And then the Russians invaded Ukraine. That dealt the Ural a massive blow. Something is still being done with the Ural Neo project on the sidelines. But that is just a Chinese sidecar with Ural stickers. That thing might very well be better than the boxers. But the Neo lacks all the subjective charm of the Ural boxer.

The blow of the near disappearance of the Ural is felt primarily in the US. Quite a few 750cc Ural overhead valve bikes were sold there. And the sense of community in the States was impressive, on a level of infatuation and toughness that we really only know from Harley owners. Another 'similarity' between classic Harleys and Urals: with sufficient attention, respect, care, and love, you can enjoy them fairly trouble-free. And the IMZ 750 side-valve and the 650cc overhead valve models, in particular, are not much more complicated to put together than an IKEA stool.

So the Americans are having problems with their Urals, because almost everyone there rides 750cc machines. The parts supply has sort of run out. Here in Europe, new 750 Ural models have also been sold. But 'we' mainly ride 750cc side-valve and 650cc overhead-valve bikes. The parts supply for the more recent Urals is still good here. But the parts supply for the old Urals? That is more than good and better than perfect. From the subcontractor side, for example, excellent aluminum cylinder and piston sets are being supplied. When the time comes, pistons, piston rings, and bearings will also be available that are significantly better than the factory versions.

And if you decide on a whim to score a used 650cc Ural here? Then the saying goes: 'The choice is vast.' Do factor in membership of the UDCN, the Ural Dnepr Club Netherlands, when making the purchase.